The Army is sending a multiple launch rocket system battalion to South Korea, giving the country additional defenses during a period of increasing instability in North Korea.
In the last several weeks North Korea has test fired several surface-to-air rockets and this week claimed to have achieved the capability to fire a nuclear weapon from its ballistic missiles. While the U.S. battalion would be effective in countering the rockets it would not be effective against a ballistic missile, Pentagon officials said.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren emphasized that the relocation of the system was “not the result of an increased threat,” but part of an Army-wide consolidation of all field artillery brigades from two battalions to three battalions each.
The Multiple Launch Rocket System and 400 troops from the 2nd Battalion 20th field artillery will come from Fort Hood, Texas. They will arrive in June for a deployment of nine months and will join two other battalions already in place at Camp Casey, just north of Seoul.
